Ulopaka
The Ulopaka, Ulopas Sapiens, are a semimammalian species from the planet Pochi, in the Ninu Warymi region of the Milky Way. Biology Ulopaka are modestly sized humanoids, standing approximately 1.7m on average. Their skin is typically a light gray, though beige, cream and white skin colors are not uncommon. The Ulopaka have two large, circular red eyes which are stacked vertically on their face. They have large teeth for chewing through tough meat, and their size causes their mouths to be permanently open with their teeth bared. They have long arms, with five fingers on each hand but no thumb. Their fingers terminate in long, retractable claws rather than fingertips, which are used to tear meat as well as grab on to cliff walls. Their nose is off to the side, with four nostrils placed on the cheeks. Their eyes have more color receptors than humans, and are able to see over a dozen of colors not available to most other species. The Ulopaka reproduce sexually and give live birth. Average Citizen The typical Ulopaka citizen of the UUPC wears the usual flowing Ulopaka clothing, made of thin cloth dyed with the four primary colors. They live in large, floating communal residencies, essentially many floating homes chained together with bridges and elevators. Many careers are available to the Ulopaka, however, most choose to work on collective farms, collective factories or in research laboratories. Ulopaka have an inherent wanderlust, and are common visitors to Confluences. Many also visit Earth, and many have adopted human Marxist viewpoints into their life. There is also a very large population of priests and other holy people among the ranks of the Ulopaka, and the Union of Holy Devotees is one of the largest Partisans' Unions. History Prehistory The Ulopaka developed their earliest organizations in the highlands of Pochi, climbing the cliff faces to harvest loose roots. They built rawhide lean-to villages in the valleys, where rivers flowed and fish could be caught. At this time, the Ulopaka organized in loose tribes, run centrally by a chieftain, called an Inta Raymimi, who owned the collective resources of the tribe. The chief organized hunting and gathering parties to fish, dig roots and catch small animals. Also during this time, the Ulopaka began looking towards the pure white skies of Pochi, seeing the large rainbows that were visible after a heavy rainstorm. They began associating the colors of the rainbows with deities, creating the earliest form of the Ulopakan religion, Ecazolet Qui. Formative Era The Ulopaka soon discovered agriculture, and began planting vegetables along the fertile river beds of the valleys, as well as terracing the cliffs and irrigating them through rainwater collection ducts. The chieftains of the ancient tribes eventually ordered the development of larger, more sturdy cities. The Ulopaka's first cities were built of a smooth, red sandstone, with a large central palace for the monarch of the city. During this time, the Ulopaka had mastered forging copper into tools, and had experimented with pit-smelting copper ores alongside lead to make crude bronzes. The Ulopaka had much conflict over resources such as wood or fishing, and fights between cities were common. Some cities had managed to claim more land for themselves via conquest, but were very quickly lost as moving between cities was still very difficult before the wheel was invented. Pre-Classical Era The Ulopaka continued their vicious cycle of build, war, build, war for hundreds of years. The wheel, invented originally as a way to roll down the sides of cliffs really fast for fun, allowed the Ulopaka to build pulley mechanisms for scaling cliffs. They also made the first trips to Pochi's massive fresh water oceans, and many exploration groups rebelled against their home cities' leaders and set up farming homesteads along the coast. Also at this time, the Ulopaka began domesticating large draft animals such as the Impasca, a large mammal who is able to carry many more pounds of cargo than a normal Ulopaka. They also began sending messages via flying, as they had domesticated the vulture-like Acca bird to send mail beyond the mountains much faster than a delivery person would be able to. Classical Era During the Classical era, the Ulopaka discovered many technological secrets including proper bronze alloys, rudimentary iron smelting using early bloomeries, higher-grade pottery, and a more unified alphabet. The kings of Ulopakan cities began encouraging piety in all citizens, and most citystates became theocracies where all people devoted themselves to the Ecazolet Qui. The kings also began allocating more political power to wealthy landowners and priests, while the role in society of the peasant class was eroded. Another major event of this era was the unification of some citystates into larger national entities. The king Ychapa Kazqam, from the city of Poqchuamo, began his military conquests in the (Sol) year 9,824 BCE, bringing 15 of the neighboring cities under the Kazqami banner. The Kazqami Empire was the first Ulopakan political entity of a significant size, and many other kings began their own campaigns to unify their nearby surroundings. Post-Classical Era The Ulopaka, like many races, had a long period of sustained development of society, technology and culture. They had developed high-quality steel materials, advanced construction techniques such as the crane and dome, concrete, and even crude gliders for cruising down the sides of mountains. Many awe inspiring works of art were created as well, with massive busts of leaders and religious symbols carved into cliff faces. However, not all was going well. Following the lead of Ychapa Kazqam, many other kings had conquered and carved their own empires, through war or subjugation. However, because their traditional governments had been cast out of their home cities, the people of conquered cities felt great hatred towards the large empires of Pochi. This, coupled with the gradual decrease in peasant's rights created a much larger disparity between the ruling class and the poor. Eventually, a war broke between the Kazqami Empire and the Zipanaqa Kingdom, the two largest nationstates at the time. Using their superior numbers, the Zipanaqa were able to take over the lands conquered by the Kazqami Empire, bringing the Zipanaqa to reign as the single superpower on the planet, which would dominate for the next six thousand Earth years. Zipanaqa Dynasty For the next 6,000 Earth years, the Zipanaqa would continue to conquer smaller states nearby. They had developed countless new technologies which allowed much faster conquest, such as electricity, aircraft, diesel engines, gunpowder and rifles, railroads, armored vehicles, automobiles, and even had crude telephone connections between the largest cities. The Zipanaqa's borders stretched from the farthest eastern beaches of the continent to the midwestern flood plains. They had developed a massive, complex network of roads and railroads, connecting their empire and allowing travel between cities in as little as a few days compared to the months that it would take to cross the mountains otherwise. However, with the industrialization of the empire and the gradual movement from home industries to large-scale factory production, the peasantry became the workers and there were many famines once the Empire had forced the farmers into cities to produce steel and generate electricity. However, in the large, gleaming marble cities of the Empire's wealthy, the elite enjoyed themselves, never lifting a finger, as that was the job of their servants. The Ulopakan peoples knew that something had to change, and quickly. Rainbow Revolution The Empire had continued its habit of conquests until the entire continent was under their banner. The Zipanaqa continued their erasure of rights for the peasantry (and now the factory workers, as well) for the benefit of continued, sustainable cheap labor. For the workers and peasantry of the Empire, the long reign of the Emperor, and their club of uber-wealthy aristocrats, must come to an end. The Revolution of 3,267 BCE, called in history books as the Rainbow Revolution, began in the small mining town of Polazqa, on the eastern coast of the continent. The foreman of the mine had demanded the miners to haul over three hundred kilograms of coal from the already drying up mine. In response to the miners noting that there was scarcely two hundred kilograms left in the mine at all, the foreman went in to a fit of rage, punching one of the smaller workers square in the face. Knowing that they had nothing to lose but their chains, the miners took up their axes and brutally attacked the foreman while chanting prayers to Imo. News of the "Polazqa Riots" soon spread across the Empire through newspaper, and similar cases of workers attacking their bosses arose within days. Eventually, the military was dispatched to Polazqa and other rioting cities to quell disquiet. The soldiers dispatched to the automobile plant in the Empire's capital were promised lavish rewards if they carried out their orders to shut down pro-labor rights protests; the soldiers opened fire on over 2,000 unarmed strikers, killing 946 and wounding 500 in the ensuing chaos. The Massacre of Zipana only served to ignite further protests, and in 3,627 BCE an unprecedentedly large riot, which would later lead to revolution, began in the capital city. The Revolution proper began when nearly three million striking Ulopaka- farmers, manufacturers, teachers, servants, miners, and defecting soldiers- assembled a massive protest line on the main inroad to the city. It was told that the protest line was meant to be peaceful, and the Empire allowed it on the grounds that the protesters would be under constant, heavy watch from police and military. However, as the line progressed towards the city, the marchers began moving faster and faster, until about the kilometer mark from the city gates where trucks carrying weapons- pikes, rifles, grenades, even swords- pulled up next to the line and began handing out the arms. Once the line was armed, the marchers charged at the gates, catching guards by surprise and overwhelming the city's defenses. Within hours, the city had been entirely taken by revolutionaries, and the Emperor Upona Zipanaq was sacrificially thrown from the tallest mountain on Pochi and the rest of nobility imprisoned and later executed. With access to the military's battalions of tanks, aircraft and the armed forces, the Rainbow Revolution quickly destroyed any imperial resistance, and by 3,265 BCE the continent was liberated from the Empire. The workers assembled themselves into the Union of Ulopakan People's Communes, and work began on the future of the Ulopakan species. Stellar Era After the Revolution had ended and the UUPC announced itself as the unified Ulopaka government, the first twenty-year plan was announced. The goals of the First Plan revolved around creating a better future for all Ulopaka proletarians: achieve space travel and land a person on the moon of Pochi, Kali, extend the life span of the average worker by 34 years, educate 100% of the population, eliminate poverty and plague caused by the mistreatment of workers in the Empire, and harness renewable energy so the lives of coal miners and charcoal burners would get better. In only fifteen years, the Ulopaka had gone outdated technology such as petroleum-powered generators, cathode ray tube computers and patriarchal gender roles to nuclear fission power, microchip and transistor technology and a fair, egalitarian society for all seven genders. At the end of the Plan, the Rainbow Flag was planted on Kali in the name of peace, hope and the future of the species. Development of high technology continued rapidly, and each twenty year plan brought new innovations, new hopes for the liberated workers of Pochi. Soon the Ulopaka had established colonies on the different planets of their home solar system, unlocked the secrets of nuclear fusion and space-age alloying, medical longevity and had even begun sending out great interstellar voyages with the recently-invented faster-than-light drive, powered by the will of the proletariat (and photons), leaving a trail of rainbows behind them. The Ulopaka soon made contact with their stellar neighbors, the Alxo and the Citer, and spread the Ulopakan ideals of worker's liberation, solidarity and peace to them; in a word, exporting the revolution. The UUPC was also viewed as "matured" by the Spacial Council races, and was given a seat on the Spacial Board of International Affairs. Eventually, however, the peace was broken. Laputan imperialists smelled weakness in the decentralized government of the UUPC, and soon invaded to feed corporate interests (as the region of space occupied by the Ulopaka was rich in dark energy). The attackers were repelled by the will of the Rainbow Army (and also many guns), and Laputan military presence was driven out. The Ulopaka also played a major role liberation of Earth in the Terra-Laputan war, forming the Colonial Coalition Army, a joint military force between them and the Alxo and Citer. Culture The Ulopaka are a deeply religious people, and show devotion to their pantheon at every opportunity. There are nine gods in the Ulopaka pantheon, called Ecazolet Qui. The gods are overseen by the White God Molana Qui, who represents color, creativity and piety. Below Molana Qui are the other Color Gods, including Pothak the Red God, Ziqua the Orange God, Pakata the Yellow God, Imana the Green God, Imo the Cyan God, Piqua the Blue God, Mika the Pink God, and Kazqi the Purple God. Unity, solidarity and resistance to reactionary thought are all a very large part of the Ulopakan identity. Housing is viewed as a universal living right, along with water and food if those are needed for metabolism in creatures. Ulopakan peace corps are among the largest in the galaxy, sending millions of tons of relief to poor regions of Laputan, Sarvos and Maloki space. Art is encouraged greatly, and galleries, museums and libraries are amongst the most common buildings in communal residencies. The Ulopakan mode of production resembles the human Ayllu system. One group of producers, for example farmers, collect their capital, ie food, and give it to other producers, for example factory workers. The workers produce tools to give to the farmers to keep the cycle working perfectly. In a human sense, the Ulopaka are non-Marxist full communist. Government The UUPC has no centralized government or leader. All solar systems under Ulopaka control are led as a commune, which votes on internal affairs in a technologically-aided direct democracy. All Ulopakan citizens also vote on larger issues, such as increase in military force or ethical issues such as longevity/death debates, in a similar democratic system. They also do not have a centralized currency, using a system of credit-card-esque labor vouchers to distribute goods. Presence The Ulopaka are seen as very strong allies to many races, including the Citer, Alxo, most Human groups, the Nyctosians, Utmark and Prodoanthra. They regard the Laputans and Sarvos as imperialist corporate warmongers and fascist reactionaries, which is not exactly incorrect, and flat out refuse to speak to them. They also view the Maloki as revisionist liberals, the Dorsum and Humans as confused and powerless proles, and the Gol Sehk as corrupt oligarchs. They frequently use their military to incite revolutions in other nations, and send large relief funds to impoverished areas. City Planning The Ulopaka prefer to build their cities out of the metal Ziquam, a lighter-than air alloy. Their cities float above the countryside, as to allow maximum space for farming and other productive activities. Apartments are the preferred residencies, as they allow a better sense of connection to neighborhood comrades. City blocks are chained together with energy links, spanned by foot bridges. Cars for personal transport are entirely unheard of, and all citizens ride public transportation in the form of large hovering bus-like vehicles. Category:Species